Been to a steakhouse lately? They serve pretty much what they always have — excellent cuts of meat cooked to order. What’s changed are the gourmet sides, from parmesan truffle fries to broccolini. And the drinks.

Though Calgarians are still pairing their beef with wine (or the occasional Caesar), more often, they’re priming their palates for steak with bourbon cocktails, from whiskey sours to Manhattans. Kentucky’s trendy whiskey just kind of works inside a masculine steakhouse, and the more refined bourbons being produced by some of the state’s smaller distillers are as smooth to sip as a glass of cabernet.

Modern Steak transformed the former Muse space in Kensington into a light and bright, contemporary-style steakhouse serving Alberta beef and lots of bourbon. Owner Stephen Deere wanted a cocktail menu that reflects current trends and tastes and all signs pointed to bourbon whiskey, which happens to be his favourite spirit.

The list offers 20 kinds of bourbon and shakes up five classic bourbon cocktails and five twists, such as the Mark & Stormy (with Maker’s Mark bourbon instead of Gosling’s Black Rum).

Calgary steakhouse mainstay Hy’s is also on board with bourbon. Bartender Alejo Stump says that customers are moving toward more spirited drinks pre-dinner, such as the Old Fashioned, which is Hy’s most popular cocktail and features bourbon, bitters and a splash of simple syrup.

“I’m trying to push them in that direction,” says Stump.

Customers still order a beer or a martini, but general manager Barb Steen says the trend is going back to the classics that, incidentally, were popular when Hy’s first opened in 1955.

Bourbon is also big at Vintage Chophouse, where the jazz music and jazz-inspired oil paintings transport you back to an era of mint juleps and New York sours.

To be sure, the beef and bourbon trend is a little bit of “everything old is new again.” The big difference is bartenders’ comfort to take classic bourbon cocktails and then twist them slightly to create their own versions. Read on for three we couldn’t pass up.

Boulevardier by Alejo Stump, Hy’s Steakhouse and Cocktail Bar

Ditch the gin in a Negroni, sub in rye whisky (or bourbon), and you’ve got a Boulevardier. This stiff, sophisticated cocktail is the perfect one to sip inside Hy’s new, Gatsby-esque space complete with tufted leather couches, dark mahogany cocktail tables and two semi-private library rooms.

Stump makes his with Knob Creek bourbon, whose sweetness, along with a splash of Aperol, nicely offsets the bitter Campari. Its strength sets the mood for steak, and the brandied cherry garnish (in place of a traditional orange twist) is a nice touch.

Method: Prep a rocks glass by rubbing orange peel around the inside of the glass. Add one large ice cube. Next, combine bourbon, vermouth, Campari and Aperol over regular ice in a lipped mixing glass. Stir about 30 times. Strain into the rocks glass and garnish with a brandied cherry.

— Recipe courtesy Alejo Stump, Hy’s Steakhouse & Cocktail Bar

A Four Roses Smash cocktail made with Four Roses Single Barrel Kentucky Bourbon at Modern Steak in Kensington.Ted Rhodes /
Calgary Herald

Four Roses Smash by Julien Murphy, Modern Steak

It’s light and fizzy, with a hint of citrus and ginger and the pleasing taste of Four Roses Single Barrel bourbon. The Four Roses Smash is yet another way Modern Steak is trying to get Calgarians drinking bourbon, through what proprietor Stephen Deere calls “gateway cocktails.” This twist on a classic smash is best enjoyed before the steak, perhaps with some oysters on the half shell.

Four Roses Smash recipe

2 oz Four Roses Single Barrel bourbon

1 oz simple syrup (1:1 sugar to water ratio)

1 lemon wedge, to squeeze

2 orange wedges, to squeeze

Grizzly Paw ginger beer to top

Garnish: Orange slice cut in half

Method: In a cocktail shaker, combine bourbon and simple syrup, then squeeze in lemon and orange from wedges and drop in wedges. Add ice and shake, then strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice. Top with ginger beer and garnish with an orange slice cut in half.

Sipping on your Revolver cocktail, with fans spinning overhead in this modern saloon, you’re ready for almost anything. Except, perhaps, the surprising and pleasing taste of this bourbon-meets-Kahlua cocktail, which is basically a twist on a Manhattan (with Kahlua in place of sweet vermouth).

When the cocoa flavour of the Kahlua meets the orange bitters and bourbon, the result is a warm, strong and very drinkable cocktail that tastes not unlike a boozy Terry’s Chocolate Orange. It’s like an apres-steak dessert digestif.

Revolver

1-1/2 oz Four Roses Single Barrel bourbon

1/2 oz Kahlua

3-4 dashes orange bitters

Garnish: Fresh orange slice

Method: Combine bourbon, Kahlua and bitters in a cocktail shaker with ice. Shake, then strain into a rocks glass over fresh ice and a fresh orange slice.

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